Mrs Brooks, 44, and Mr Brooks, 49, of Churchill, Oxfordshire, appeared at Southwark Crown Court for a half-hour preliminary hearing where Mr Justice Fulford set a plea and case management hearing for September 26.

She has been charged with three counts of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, standing accused of removing boxes of material from the News International archive and trying to conceal documents, computers and other material from Scotland Yard’s phone hacking inquiry Operating Weeting.

Mr Brooks, a racehorse trainer, has been charged with one count of conspiring to pervert the course of justice as have four other defendants who also appeared in court today.